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The Split-Brain Syndrome

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Anthony S. David
Anthony S. David*
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF
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Extract

A recurrent theme in psychiatry is the belated and often confused appreciation of advances in other relevant disciplines. An example of this is the “split-brain syndrome”, which provoked a Zeitgeist in the kindred field of neuropsychology and which has shaped notions of mental functioning impinging on the domain of psychiatry as well as philosophy, aesthetics, and education (Benson & Zaidel, 1985). The ‘left brain – right brain story’, while giving rise to much creative scientific enquiry, has also spawned some rather dubious psychophantasy. The purpose of this article is therefore to summarise this vast and growing body of work, to highlight areas of particular relevance, and to steer the reader away from the more wayward regions of speculation.

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The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 154 , Issue 3 , March 1989 , pp. 422 - 425
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Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1989 

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